The present invention relates to meter reading tools and, more particularly, to a submersible meter reading tool including a specially designed brush for cleaning the meter face and facilitating the alignment of the reading tool over the meter face.
In order to provide out-of-sight water lines and to prevent freezing in the winter, utility water lines are buried below ground level. Water meters connected to these lines are typically contained in underground wells or boxes. In poorly drained soil and particularly in low level regions, water frequently stands in the boxes above the face of the meter. Water above the meter face makes it difficult or impossible to read the numbers of the meter. The rise of the water since the last reading and the subsequent settling of the silt or dirt on the meter face further hinders the meter reading. Thus, it often becomes necessary to bail water from the meter box and then wipe the silt or dirt from the meter face in order to read the meter. Such a labor intensive job is very costly to the utility company, and ultimately to the consumer.
This problem has been recognized in the past and addressed in the prior art. Examples of prior art patents include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,612,649 to Pusey and 4,215,916 to Bell, et al. The Pusey patent discloses an underground meter reading tool including a hollow tube having a squeeze bulb at the top end and a valve and nozzles at the bottom end. By squeezing the bulb, water contained in the tube is forced through the nozzles to provide water jets to flush and thus clean the meter face. A magnifying glass connected to and extending along side the tube is then used to read the meter. The Pusey device is useful; however, it does not effectively and completely solve the problem. The water jets do not always clean the meter face effectively, especially where silt has become encrusted on the face. Also, the tool is heavy, especially with cleaning water being stored in the tube, and this adds substantially to the fatigue of the meter reader thus reducing the efficiency of the operation. Also, Pusey makes no provision for providing a direct sight path to the meter face through the accumulated water in the meter box.
The Bell patent recognizes the need for a direct sight path and thus provides a meter reading device including a cylindrical telescope. The top end of the telescopic body is covered by a clear lens and the lower end is covered by another lens so that direct reading is possible. The lower lens has a small aperture to provide a water jet for cleaning the meter face as the telescopic body is moved in and out.
While the Bell reference eliminates the need for bailing water from the meter box and provides a direct sight path to the meter face, it is not without its disadvantages. As with the Pusey meter reading device the tool is cumbersome and heavy. Also, a jet stream of water simply does not provide the necessary cleaning of the meter face. For example, the water level in the meter box drops below the meter face, silt or dirt deposited on the face dries out and hardens to a crusty covering. Even if water is then available to load the Bell scope, the jet stream doesn't have the force required to clean this crusty deposit from the meter face.
Furthermore, if the meter box is full, the Bell scope must be pushed down hard against the meter face and carefully held against tilting. This is necessary since the water jet action stirs up the muddy water, and if allowed to run back into the telescopic body through the aperture in the lower lens, the meter face is once again obscured. This makes the job very tedious and tiring for the meter reader, especially since the tool is also relatively heavy.
Additionally, both the Pusey and Bell devices fail to provide any means for quickly aligning the magnifying glass or scope, respectively over the meter face. This is particularly important since after cleaning a submerged meter face, dirt and silt in the water in the meter box is stirred up and the water becomes murky. The murky water obscures the meter and makes it difficult to quickly and accurately align the scope over the meter face to take a reading. A need is therefore identified for an improved tool for reading underground meters.